


Escape

by RoninReverie



Series: Old Kanera Fanfiction [5]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: F/M, Slavery, Tatooine, Twi'leks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2019-04-26 05:17:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14395110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoninReverie/pseuds/RoninReverie
Summary: Tatooine Arc: 2/5As Kanan, Hera, and Chopper try to escape Jabba's Palace, they run into a few complications along the way, some bringing back old memories, and even older scars.





	Escape

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr: [Link!](http://roninreverie.tumblr.com/post/138000462634/escape)
> 
>  **IMPORTANT!** This series was written before the second half of season 2 aired on television, so all content is based on my headcanons after season 1 and the "A New Dawn" novel. 
> 
> This is a direct continuation of "Tatooine" (the previous chapter)

“So where exactly is that old droid taking us?”

Chopper grumbled a few times, skating through the halls in search of the right access port.

“Chopper is helping us get back to the  _Ghost._ He says that the Er’Kit flew it here when he traded me over to Jabba.” She spoke back to the droid, a hint of doubt in her voice. “But first, we’re looking for our blasters, right Chop?”

He agreed.

“Well,” Kanan whispered. “How do we know we can trust it? You said it already double-crossed you once for that sales guy…What’s to stop it from doing that again?”

Chopper grumbled defiantly.

“He says that he left his old master,” Hera repeated. “Said he was too greedy and treated his machines poorly, so now he’s paying for it and no longer needs Chopper’s help.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kanan grumbled.

The droid made a sound that was not a laugh, but also not an explanation, prompting Kanan to suddenly remember that ominous feeling from when he awoke. The death, the cheers, the greed—he couldn’t help but to relate those feelings to the droid’s former master.  _Probably best to keep that a secret from Hera._

She continued defending the droid by saying, “Why else would he come back to free us? If you ask me, I think he’s grateful, and we should be too—assuming we make it out of this death trap long enough to even think that far ahead.”

Kanan grunted.

“I don’t like it.”

 _“Uh huh, yeah…”_ She rolled her eyes and ignored him, hurrying alongside the droid as she asked in a whisper, “So, how exactly are we getting out of this again?”

Chopper chirped quietly in reply, stopping at a door to untwist the lock. As he did, the large panels slid open revealing a great weapons chamber. Kanan and Hera’s blasters were thrown sloppily into a pile in the middle of the floor alongside other various weapons taken from Jabba’s past prisoners.

Chopper began to cheer, and Hera gave Kanan that look of a newly satisfied  _‘I told you so’_  showing in her eyes.

“See Kanan? He’s helping already. Good job Spectre Three!”

 _“Specter Three…”_  Kanan mumbled under his breath.  _“I don’t believe this—”_  He walked in and grabbed their two blasters, first handing Hera hers and then loading his pockets with anything dangerous looking that he could grab. “All I see—” he retaliated, “—Is our ticket out of here when things go South. There’s only one way out of this place and there’s not going to be any sneaking out this time.” He paused and felt the air. “There’s a great darkness here. I don’t particularly want to find out what it is.”

Chopper agreed.

Hera nodded and started loading up on explosives.

“I heard that the armorers who helped reconstruct this place never even made it out alive—” She paused and punched Kanan once in the arm. “Why do you think I didn’t want us coming here?  _It’s suicide!_ ”

“ _Gah!_ ” He groaned, “Alright, alright, I’m sorry— _yeesh!_ ”

She gave him a glare.

“You can make it up to me once we’re out of this.”  

“Sure,” he smirked. “But first, let’s focus on finding the  _Ghost.”_

 _“But first—”_  she erased Kanan’s statement with her own and turned to the droid. “Chopper, do you think that you can locate the chambers filled with the rest of Jabba’s slaves?”

“Hera,” Kanan argued, “What are you planning to do?”

“We can’t just leave them. My sister, Jakko, all the others—they deserve their freedom!”

“I agree—” he started, “But how do you expect us to smuggle them out of here when we might not even be able to get out ourselves?”

“I don’t know…” She shook her head. “But I have to try.”

Kanan sighed once, long and heavy.

“We’ll look for your sister,” he said apologetically. “But—the rest, Hera—they’re just going to have to wait.”

“Not an option!”

He took her by the shoulders and gave her his most serious of stares.

“You would rather we lead them to the slaughter upstairs? Do you know how many guns are up there? How fast they’ll mow us down?”

Hera looked to the ground.

He knew her…the way her mind worked. She would always try to save as many lives as she could. It was noble—but unrealistic. She spoke often with crazy ideas as though they had an army of support behind them, but it had always just been him and her. Kanan and Hera against the Empire—against the entire universe! It was a fun ride, but no matter how many things they’ve done together, no matter how much they succeeded in doing…there was no way for them to save everyone. They were just two people and they were in over their heads with this mission.

Kanan sighed and released her.

“Chopper,” he addressed him by the name reluctantly. “Find out where Jabba dancers are, and lead us there. Then plan out a route to get us back to the  _Ghost_ in one piece _._ ”

The droid growled at him.

“Just do it, Chop…” Hera murmured, her voice soft and saddened.

He did as told and started back out into the hallway.

“Hera…” Kanan started, his hand coming up to comfort her.

She shrugged him off. “Let’s just focus on the mission, Kanan.” She smirked a little, a plan hidden beneath her words. “The sooner we find a way out, the sooner we can find a way back in.”

Kanan rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but smile at her. Only Hera could see hope in the most hopeless of situations. He’d talk to her about it after they’ve escaped. No sense in ruining the mood now.

_Woop! Woop! Woop! Woop!_

Chopper’s alarming screeches blew past the door as he slid through the hallway and disappeared around the corner.

“Chopper!” Hera whispered frantically.

“What got into him?”

Hera and Kanan each poked a head out the door to see the two Gamorrean guards heading their way, and they darted swiftly back into the doorway.

Kanan drew is blaster and waited, listening to the footsteps drawing nearer.

“So much for stealth?”

“You take the one on the left?” She raised her weapon.

“I’ve got your back.”

She took in a breath.  “I know you do.”

* * *

 

_“Wahpiha!? Haku woy uba besnewa?”_

Jabba the Hutt was not happy to learn about any disorder in his palace— _none that occurred without his knowledge at least._ When he heard tell of escaped prisoners, the large bodied Hutt was downright furious.

“Three guards have not reported in, my lord.” Bib Fortuna, Jabba’s Twi’lek majordomo informed. He spoke in Huttese to his master, despite Ryl being his language of birth. He hated his master, but spoke civil nevertheless. “Should I send more guards to apprehend them?”

Jabba roared a reply, waving Bib away as his finger pointed hastily towards Boba Fett who stood idly by in the corner.

_“Tah doth mee piuma, Boba! Kuna kee boonowa heee kouuedahiua coo canta da la caiot wahpiha… an kuna kee wen hoohah!”_

(This is your fault, Boba! You will find these prisoners who think that they can escape… and you will end them!)

Boba nodded and without a word, turned to hunt down those who dared oppose the Hutt Palace.

As he did, Bib Fortuna snuck off to another room and whispered quietly to one of the many other bounty hunters in Jabba’s Palace.

“Nivek!” he whispered. “Where is that transport? I have too much invested in this mission to let a couple of lowlife prisoners ruin this trade for me!”

“I’m not sure…” the red and blue alien minion said with a nervous swallow. “Every trader from here to the Kessel Sector knows about it… b-but why Bib? Why are you so insistent on taking all of Jabba’s slaves?”

“I have a plan brewing, Nivek,” the pale Twi’lek sneered his pointed teeth at him. “It is only proper that I make the appropriate arrangements.”

“But if you are caught—If I am caught—”

“Just keep your mouth shut and everything will go smoothly. You think you can do that?”

He nodded.

“Good!” Bib frowned. “Then make sure that ship is on this planet within the week. I will have no more delays!”

“R-right. Whatever you say, Bib.”

* * *

_BLAST!_

The man rolled the corner first, firing once into the Gamorrean guard before he could even react. Just as the first shot left the barrel of his gun, the woman ran out of the room and took out the other guard equally as quick.

“Nice work!” The man smiled. He had that look on his face again.  _Why did he insist on looking at her that way?_

“You too!” The woman took a breath and looked around the corridor. “Hey, where did Chopper run off to?”

He rounded the corner slowly, his head examining the area while the man dragged the unconscious bodies of the guards into the confiscated weapons chamber. 

With the cost clear, Chopper gave up his hiding place, motioning for the two to follow him.

“Hera,” the man said. “I think your droid is a bit of a coward.”

She grumbled at him in return.

This is the 7th time that the man has said the word “Hera” when speaking to the woman. Likewise, it was around the 4th time that the woman had said the word “Kanan” in response to him. Chopper deduced, that much like his new nickname, these must be the appropriate terms for the two organics he had decided to rescue.

Curiously, he did call her Spectre Two and then she called him Spectre One on occasion, though the pattern to such code names was still unclear to him. If there were any additional classifications to the two rebels, Chopper would have to figure it out later. In the meantime, he had his own mission to focus on. But first—escape was the primary focus.

“Very noble…” Hera half-smirked upon seeing the droid return.

Kanan actually smiled, shrugging as he spoke. “We’ll work on it.”

“Easy Kanan,” she teased. “It sounds like you’re starting to get attached.”

“If he’s going to be a member of the crew, then he needs to learn to keep his cool in battle, right?”

“Oh, is he going to learn that from you,  _dear?”_  

Chopper groaned at their banter. Why did organics feel the need for such pointless dialogue? What did they hope to gain? Plus… Chopper knew that he had done much more than just run and hide. 

He argued at them as they rounded the corner and saw one last Gamorrean passed out in the floor, an electric burn steaming from his stomach.

They stared down at the body a little stupefied as Chopper grumbled at them defiantly.

“Alright…” Kanan started.

Hera finished. “We owe you an apology.”

_Beep-Boop-Beep!_

Chopper cursed again. 

How dare they insult his bravery! Hopeless organics—every last one of them.

Hera shot him a warning look and cleared her throat. “If you could lead on with the rescue, that would be really great, Chop.”

With an electronic sigh, he turned back towards the hall. His new crew followed close behind him, dodging guards in the narrow palace hallways as they made their way to the chamber for Jabba the Hutt’s enslaved Twi’lek dancers.

Upon reaching the right door, Chopper halted, allowing Kanan to nearly topple over him in the process.

“Hey! Watch it!” he bellowed.

 _The man would prove much amusement to him,_  Chopper thought. The woman was nice, kind—he liked listening to her voice. He also liked that she treated him like a comrade, but Chopper really liked it when the woman yelled at the man.

“Don’t yell at him!” She smacked Kanan once on the arm. “What did you find, Chopper?”

He told them that behind the door was where the dancers had hidden. It turns out they, much like himself, did not want to stick around to watch the Rancor do its work.

Chopper could feel the misplaced compassion of the green Twi’lek woman, Hera. If he were to let it slip that he had watched his last master be eaten by a vicious monster— _she might get emotional._  He figured it was best to just keep it to himself.

“They must be hiding in here after Jabba released his little pet,” Kanan said.

“What pet?” Hera asked.

“Jabba keeps dangerous beasts below his chamber to sacrifice for sport when he gets bored. I felt the darkness when I came to. We’ll need to be careful which doors we try to open down here.”

 _The man—_ Chopper thought— _might be a little cleverer than he gave him credit for._

Hera did not seem swayed.

“All the more reason we get these people out of here as soon as possible!”

There was a look in her eyes now. Chopper wasn’t quite sure how to describe it. Determination or worry— _perhaps both?_  He logged the expression and focused his attention on the lock, quickly opening the door so they could escape sooner.

When they entered, a huddle of women who vaguely resembled Hera let out a few startled gasps and cowered together towards the wall. Chopper had remembered seeing a few of them up top when he and the others had arrived. It was a good thing that he was able to track them. But the question remained… _why were they so important to Hera?_

“Don’t worry!” She soothed the group as the green Twi’lek wandered into the room. “We aren’t here to hurt you.”

“Do you see her?” Kanan asked to the side.

She didn’t speak, but she searched the room intently. That gleam in her eyes growing softer with each dart of her stare. Chopper could feel her racing heart fall as the disappointment set in.  _But for what,_  he still wondered.

“She’s—she’s not here…” Her kind voice sounded saddened.

The man’s voice expressed sympathy.

“Hera…”

She took a step forward.

“Have any of you seen my sister? Are there any more of you trapped here?”

The others just continued to cower, some staring blankly while the rest glared at them with fear in their eyes.

“I don’t think they speak basic?” Kanan guessed.

Hera sighed. “No,” she said knowingly. “Of course they don’t. I should have known.”

“Known what?”

“A lot of tribes on my planet believe that teaching women could be a threat to the males of our society. So a lot of them don’t know basic!” she rubbed her temples. “—or self-defense, trading, piloting—much of anything really.”

Kanan looked offended for some reason, while Hera took another step forward and started speaking again.

_“Narsu. Fic ei bo dan dey sei numa?”_

The man’s eyes got bigger and his heart-rate jumped for some reason. It was like he didn’t think she could speak her own language or something? 

Chopper took it back—the organic male might be just as dimwitted as he had once assumed.

Regardless, no one seemed to reply to Hera.

“I don’t understand…” she looked offended. “Why aren’t they talking to me?”

“I don’t think that they know anything?” Kanan said. “—or maybe they don’t speak Ryl?”

“What do you think—they speak Huttese?” She gave him a look.

“One way to find out…” he smirked.  _“Jeejee banag bai yauma uba.”_

Now it was the woman who seemed confused.

“You speak Huttese?” She asked.

“Not very well, but—” He rubbed his neck. A goofy smile on his face. “I’ve picked up a few words in a couple different languages as a kid. Helps when you’re on the move a lot.”

He spoke some more.  _“Koo jeejee dayan kanwahca. Doth heee kae cuee see uba du bu bunko?”_

A pink Twi’lek woman came forth and shook her head. She wore small garments that were as revealing as they were elaborate. Her face was wise, beautiful, but tired as she stood up for the other girls who continued to cower behind her. 

She spoke in the same Huttese language as Kanan, but as she spoke he got a disappointed look on his face.

“She said that they are the only dancers here. She says that she has been here for thirteen years, and every year Jabba adds more of them to his collection.”

The pink woman spoke again and Kanan translated.

“There were others at one time—but they—”

Hera nodded, and raised her hand as if to stop his words. “They’re gone.”

“Or traded!” He said suddenly.

“No…no, no, no!” She hugged her shoulders and her voice rose. “I was so close…”

“Hera—“

“Mala Syndulla!” Hera spoke strongly. “Have any of you heard that name before?”

The pink Twi’lek looked to Hera and after a moment, she gave her attention over to Kanan and spoke.

“She’s never heard of that name before, Hera.” He stopped and looked at her. “But she says she knew of a Cham Syndulla—he was a famous rebel on Cazne.”

 _“He wasn’t just a rebel…”_  Hera looked to the ground.

Kanan’s eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open when the realization connected.

“You’re his daughter!?”

Hera swallowed.

Kanan wanted to go off on a rant about how she had never told him this, but he knew that she must have had her reasons. Her father wasn’t just some warrior on Ryloth, and she wasn’t just a member of the Syndulla clan—she was the daughter of the clan’s leader! Cham was the leader of more than that, he had lead entire revolution during the Clone Wars. Kanan remembered the stories he’d heard of the battles. It was his master’s old master, Mace Windu, who had gone to help free the planet. Hera was there that whole time—she probably met Master Windu. Kanan couldn’t believe it.

Chopper thought that Kanan might have blown a circuit.

Finally he spoke, and all Kanan did was smile and shrug.

“That explains a lot!”

_WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP!_

Alarms rang suddenly, startling the dancers and Chopper, but prompting Hera and Kanan to stare up at the ceiling with equal glares that looked as though they wanted to fight the sound itself.

“What’s that?” Hera asked.

Kanan replied quickly. “Our cue to go!”

He and Chopper bolted for the door, stopping when they realized that Hera had not followed them.

“Hera, come on!”

She looked back to the other Twi’lek women and stopped.

“We will come back for you, I promise!”

The pink Twi’lek nodded to her, her face struggling to remember something buried deep down in her core.

 _“Kumsara distombe…”_  she said.

 _Stay strong._  

Hera recognized the words. It had been so many years—for the slaves and for her. She shouldn’t blame them after all they’d been subjected too—she couldn’t—not knowing that they might have forgotten in all these years the language of their people. Hera had lost her accent many years ago herself. If it weren’t for her father’s strict lessons—she could have forgotten it all, just as easily as they did.

“Hera!” Kanan called. “We have to leave, right now!”

 _“Kumsara distombe…”_  

 And with that, Hera nodded, and she turned to run.

* * *

 

“What do you mean there isn’t a clear route to the ship?” Hera yelled.

Chopper repeated.

“Yeah, I got that!” She said, “But there has to be a path—a secret way out—something!?”

Chopper grumbled.

“I told you there was only one way out of here!” Kanan rolled his eyes. “And with all of these alarms, I’m going to go out on a limb and say they know we’re coming up.”

A bright blast of laser shot by, prompting Kanan and Hera to take cover behind the protruding doorway of another cell. 

Chopper screeched and ran off to hide somewhere safe.

A figure stood and started walking towards them. A bounty hunter by the looks of him and his gear. He was wearing green armor from Mandalore, a rarity if Hera had ever seen one.

“Oh great…”

“Friend of yours,  _dear?”_

_BLAST!_

“He must have set off the alarms!” Kanan shouted, returning fire.

“Now, why would he do that, I wonder?” Hera’s voice seemed to hum blame at him again.

Kanan gave her a look.

“Spectre Two and Spectre Three,” Kanan ordered. “You get to the ship, I’ll cover your exit.”

Hera fired a few times and spoke back. “What about you?”

“Hey, don’t worry about me!” He smiled, before a shot narrowly missed his nose. After exchanging a look with Hera, he smiled again and raised his blaster. “I was hoping to get a rematch with my old friend here anyway. Get the  _Ghost_  in the air, and I’ll find you. Now go!”

“If you aren’t up there in five minutes, so help me—” Hera threatened.

He snickered, but frowned and chunked one of his grenades over to Boba Fett’s location. He had only seconds to tell her…

“You know where I keep it—” Kanan spoke so seriously, that Hera could not break his gaze. “If I’m not out of here by then—you take it and you get out of here. Don’t let anyone find it with you! Not here…”

_She knew._

He kept his lightsaber hidden beneath his bed, shoved behind the storage beneath the frame. It was his last line of defense…and up until now, they’d never been in a tight enough spot to use it.

Hera nodded and snapped at chopper to follow behind her. They had just started running when—

_BOOM!_

The explosive went off, covering the halls with smoke and dirt. Hera looked back at Kanan, seeing him stare at her as he watched them escape. She saw him close his eyes and turn back as his body was swallowed up by the smoke bomb and vanished from view.

“Be safe…” she mumbled.

“You too…” he replied. 

Despite not even having heard her…he just knew…and wished her luck all the same.

* * *

 

“Chopper,” Hera’s voice pleaded… “Please tell me that you found my ship!”

He grunted in reply. He’d known where that thing was for hours…it was getting to it that was the problem. Chopper had surveyed this entire complex, looking for a loophole—anything that could lead them out of here without having to go through the front doors.

It wasn’t like Hera was offering up any ideas…and Chopper was alright with telling her that to her face.

“Well I really don’t think that now’s the time to bring up th—” She stopped.

Waving silently from the doorway was a Bith, a very bruised and beaten looking Bith.

“This way!” He motioned. “Come on!”

Hera was skeptic, but out of options, so she hurried over to him and Chopper followed.

“Who are you?” She asked.

He coughed once. “My name is Jakko! You are trying to escape, yes?”

Hera blinked.

“Y-yes?” she replied. “But what can you do? There are no exits, no way to get close enough to my ship.”

Jakko laughed. “I have been learning a lot here,” he said. “I know that there is at least one way to reach your ship, my lady. But—you probably won’t like it.”

Chopper trembled as Hera glared into the dark eyes of the Bith. When she spoke back, her voice was stern.

“Try me.”

* * *

 

“As much as I would love to stay and chat!” Kanan hollered, “I can’t keep the  _wife_  waiting, you know how it is!”

Boba ignored him, firing into the billows of smoke as Kanan pulled the last two explosions out of his pockets. He surveyed the hallway, looking for a weak spot, anything he could use.

In times like these, Master Billaba would always tell him to _trust in the force_ , but Kanan had forsaken it so long ago, that even if he begged, he doubt it would be much help to him now.

Kanan suddenly saw his course of action. He knew it probably wouldn’t amount to much, but in a way, it felt very close to a right move on his part.

“Hey, you want me, come and get me!” Kanan shouted as he threw the bomb into a cell nearby.

It went off and Kanan could hear the clanking footsteps of the bounty hunter as his rage blinded his reason, taking the bait without question. Just as Kanan had assumed… the helmet of Boba Fett could filter around the smoke, and also provide him vision even when there was none. Luckily, the force did still allow Kanan to sense things… and he could use that to his advantage

Kanan hid and didn’t even dare breathe as the man in armor paused at the doorway and looked inside to see it was nothing more than a barren cell.  Before he could react, Kanan slammed two fists down onto his helmet as hard as he could, toppling the hunter to the floor. He heard his helmet tumble around inside, so Kanan knew that he’d hit him hard enough to at least stun him.

As the smoke began to fade, Kanan began to shut the door with enough time left over to see the determined bounty hunter rise to his feet once more.

_What was this guy’s problem with him? All he did was throw a measly rock!_

It was then that Kanan made out his face—it was clouded, his eyes sore from the dust, but he could recognize that face anywhere—a face straight out of his nightmares. The tan skin, pointed nose, and black hair— _it couldn’t be._

 _“A clone…”_  His voice was chilled.

The clone bounty hunter roared once, and shot towards the door just as it slammed shut. Kanan, blinking back to reality from his flashbacks, shot the lock of the door to keep it shut, and without a second glance, he turned and ran the other way.

Kanan hurried towards the feeling of lifeforms, towards the chamber room where Jabba the Hutt rested. He felt the presence, and he focused past all of that in order to find her. He could sense her, he could follow that feeling she gave off.

Replacing what was left of his fear with determination, he focused on nothing else but her as he ran.

“I’m coming, Hera…”

* * *

 

“This has to be just about the dumbest plan that I’ve ever heard.”

Jakko laughed. “True,” he said. “But I have seen it work before.”

 _“Oh, have you now?”_ She tried to laugh, but her voice couldn’t mimic the sound.

Chopper grumbled.  _Were they really about to go through with this?_

“I’ve done it at least once?” He shrugged. “I only found myself back here because I didn’t have a ship—oh—and I missed my mark just enough to break a few bones.”

 _“Is that all?”_  She spoke loudly.

They hovered alongside the huge drop off. It disappeared deep into a pit, farther below ground than Hera or Chopper could even see, but by the smells of it, this pit was used for only one thing…and that thing was not too pleasant to think about. It was the garbage shoot.

“This pit leads into a tunnel that paths right into the subterranean passages near the motor pool where Jabba keeps his sail barge. Your ship will be right next to it. I assure you.”

Hera groaned and stared into the blackness. “Alright—what other choice do we have?” She moaned reluctantly and huffed once. “Let’s just get this over with…”

“Ladies first,” he motioned.

She sneered at him, and jumped blindly into the pit.

“Come on Chopper!” Her voice trailed behind.

“I sure hope this works…”

The Bith jumped next.

Chopper groaned and grumbled, but with the reluctant opposition that could combat an entire star system, he too rolled into the pit with an electronic scream echoing all the way down.

* * *

 

Kanan was in the throne room, empty and deserted. Jabba must have led his guests elsewhere…though, judging by how dark it was, it may have been more accurate to assume they were sleeping. Not for long when Boba Fett finally caught up to him. It was nearly dawn, and Kanan still had one explosive left on him. He had to make it count.

He could see the door in his view, it was only a few feet away now, but he couldn’t shake the foul feelings away. Seeing that face again…seeing that—that  _clone_. It had jarred loose feelings of fear that Kanan hadn’t felt since he was a child. He hurried silently across the chamber, pausing between the sounds of snoring and the ever growing feeling of unrest.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”

As if on cue, blast fire erupted from behind. The sleeping crooks had been lying dormant until given their signal. Suddenly, Kanan found himself surrounded with guns from every angle, even the laughter of the grand Hutt echoing into the room. To make matters worse, the Fett had escaped his temporary bindings and joined the rest of the ambush.

“Hands up!” He ordered. “Drop your weapon!”

Kanan complied, but slowly. Things did not look good for him.  _Where was Hera?_

_BLAST!  BLAST! KA-BOOM!_

Light surrounded the chamber as the front door tore to pieces and shot around Kanan, taking out most of the guns pointed at him in the process.

_There she was and all her beauty!_

“Right on cue!” Kanan smiled as wide as his face allowed and made a break for the exit in all the confusion.

Bobba Fett kicked the shrapnel away from where he had stood as Jabba and Bib Fortuna cowered behind him. The Fett’s blast fire was soon to follow, as the angry ramblings of Jabba the Hutt and a dozen other blasters drowned out even the roaring engines of the  _Ghost._

Hera was already providing cover fire, allowing  Kanan to jump aboard the ship. As soon as Hera saw him, they didn’t stick around any longer than they had to, and took off into the sky just seconds later.

Jabba’s roars echoed through the open chamber as the new sunrises poured light into the darkness so bright that the large mass had to shield his eyes in order to follow the ship. He had only one order.  _Hunt them down, and end them!_

* * *

 

Kanan wooed and laughed all the way to his chair in the  _Ghost._ He took notice of the unexpected Bith, but didn’t care, as he reached around her chair to wrap Hera in a hug.

“I couldn’t have planned that better if I—“

His voice cut off suddenly, his arms freezing above her as the odor met his nose.

“— _Agh!_ What is that smell!?” He groaned.

“Glad you’re safe too, _dear…_ ” Hera grumbled. She pointed to the other body on board and said, “Kanan, meet our infamous Bith, Jakko Mixon. Jakko, why don’t you tell Kanan how we got out of the Hutt Palace?”

“Why the garbage shoot, of course.”

Chopper growled and shook his head.

“You’re kidding…”

“That’s what I said!” Hera grinned. “But more importantly, Kanan—it worked! I know our way back in.”

“Back?” Kanan repeated, the words felt foreign against his tongue. “In? There? Are you crazy?”

“On the contrary,  _luv,_ ” she said, flipping switches along the dashboard. “I’ve never been more sane in my life. _And look,_  I don’t want to go back there anymore than you do, but I made a promise to those girls, and I am going to see it through.”

“But Hera—” 

Kanan was about to tell her about Boba Fett, but with the Bith and Chopper listening in, he decided to keep it to himself. Besides, Kanan felt a dark presence creeping up on them. He had only seconds to warn her.

“Watch out!” He and the ship had started alerting the crew at the same precise moment as a ship targeted their location.

“That’s a Firespray Class Interceptor!” Hera yelled. “What is it doing all the way out here?”

“Nothing good!” Kanan strapped himself in. “I fear it’s our friend, the bounty hunter…”

“Honestly, Kanan!” Hera scolded. “What did you do to this guy?”

“He’s persistent!” Kanan lied— _well half-lied._  “Can you shake him?”

“Please!” She smiled at him reassuringly. “It’s me? Now everybody hang on tight!”

Chopper groaned, screaming suddenly as Hera took a hard right into the skies. She groaned as the steering fought against her, but she managed to get behind Boba’s ship, firing a few shots into the craft before he maneuvered out of range.

“Uh-oh,” she blurted.

“Uh-oh?” Jakko gulped. “What uh-oh?”

“Brace for impact!” Hera yelled.

Heavy missile blasts rocked the  _Ghost_  as alarms started going haywire.

“What was that, and why did it sound important!?” Kanan hollered. 

“He played us into a corner! Kanan you need to get to the nose turret and keep him occupied! Chopper, get over to that control panel and fix the hyperdrive!”

“And me?” Jakko wondered.

“You can man the Phantom’s gun, now go! I’ve got shields up, but that ship has a lot of strong missiles. We can’t take too many of those shots!”

They scattered, bumping around as Hera wove in and out of fire. Kanan began to fire immediately as soon as he’d made contact with his gun. The Bith, however, was not as natural taking his place in the gunner’s seat.

“Uh…” He looked lost. “How do I fire this thing?”

“Just pull the triggers and aim!” Kanan groaned.

 _“He makes it sound easy…”_ Jakko mumbled. He took up the controls nevertheless and began firing. Once the first shot was fired, he laughed and started blasting rapidly towards anything and everything the gun could hit.

“Easy back there boys!” Hera called. “Chop! How’s the light speed coming?”

He grumbled in response.

“I don’t care about that!” She growled. “I don’t care if it won’t get us off planet, I just want us hidden! Start it up now!”

“Hera, what’s wrong!?” Kanan’s voice echoed into the ship’s comm links.

“Chopper says our ship is damaged. We can’t make it out of the atmosphere. But if we time it just right—” She grunted. “We can slip away long enough to hide somewhere on Tatooine.”

“Well, whatever you’re about to do,” Kanan fired. “Do it fast!”

“Hit it Chop!” She ordered.

The droid twisted the controls, activating their engines, firing the  _Ghost_ across the skies at a blinding speed that not even Boba Fett’s ship could trace. Just as suddenly, they were gone, and the bounty hunter was left alone in the air—no target—and no prisoners for Jabba the Hutt.

He slammed his fists into the ship and cursed under his breath.

”Another time…” He said.

Then he turned his ship away and headed back towards the Hutt Palace.

* * *

 

“Are we dead?” Jakko’s whole body shook, his voice uneasy and nauseous as he choked back impending vomit.

“Don’t you dare!” Hera warned, kicking a bucket over to him.

“How’s the  _Ghost?”_ Kanan asked.

They were parked—half crashed in the deserts of Tatooine on the other side of Mos Eisley.

“We’re fried…” Hera sighed. “It’s going to take time to repair our ship this time, Kanan. That bounty hunter sure knows how to aim a blast—he hit all of our weak points. Without that jump just now—” She shook her head. “We might not be having this conversation.”

“Well…” Kanan took in a deep breath. “Another hairline escape from the  _Ghost_ crew, I suppose. We should begin repairing the ship as soon as possible.”

“I agree.”  

Jakko shook away the last of his nausea and stood.

“If it is all the same to you,” he said. “I think I’m going to head back to Mos Eisley—I want to beg Blerx to give me my old job back.”

“You can’t just lea—” Kanan was about to protest, but Hera’s hand silenced him.

“Thank you Jakko, for all your help.”

He turned to leave the ship, when Hera called out to him one last time.

“Wait! Jakko…” She looked to him with plea in her eyes. “Does the name Mala Syndulla mean anything to you? Anything at all?”

The Bith blinked, but with a confusion in his stare, he shook his head and apologized. “I’m sorry Captain, but I don’t know that name.”

“That’s what I thought…” She looked once to the floor, but hid her grief. “Thank you, Jakko. Be careful out there.”

He nodded, and turned out the ship.

“Hera…” Kanan started to speak as soon as he heard her sniffle.

“I’m alright!” She wiped the tear away. “Let’s get busy working on the  _Ghost._ The rest we can sort out later.”

“There’s something I need to tell you…” Kanan blurted. “About the bounty hunter who’s been chasing after us.”

She looked to his face to see the pain hiding beneath the blue eyes he tried to mask as strong. Hera took his hand.

“I—I think he was a clone…” 

Hera’s mouth opened, but closed right after. She squeezed his hand and rubbed the top of it tenderly with her thumb.

“The repairs can wait for a day…I think we both deserve a rest…” She spoke softly. Her voice was the most reassuring thing in the galaxy to him. 

Kanan didn’t speak, but he nodded.

“I’m going to wash this smell away. Please, Kanan… try to ease your thoughts.”

“I know,” he sighed. He smiled at her. She knew him very well, how the pain could make his thoughts tremble—how the nightmares could wake the force inside him in the worst of ways.

She rest a hand on his shoulder, but eventually turned to leave.

Chopper whined, and followed behind her, demanding he be cleaned first.

Kanan looked to the floor and wondered just what their time on Tatooine was really costing them…and where would the future take them when it seemed all of their worst fears from the past were resurfacing to haunt them.

But for now at least, they were safe. For now they lived to fight another day.


End file.
